Most helpful positive review

This was a great little purchase for my trip. It made the whole experience more enjoyable, and I found myself using it from the moment I arrived. It was really handy in the situations given, like in restaurants and in taxis and others, but more than that, it was great to be able to play with the language in it. Granted it was basic language, but that's exactly what I wanted for my holiday, and I enjoyed being able to speak without the book after a few days.

In response to someone saying that you can't make sentences with this book, actually the opposite was the case. I found that with this book I was able to get around even without the book after just a few days using it and learning the language from it. I really enjoyed the freedom it gave me to do what I wanted and get around by myself, as well as the great feeling of just being able to stand and converse a little bit in Chinese.

Would definitely recommend to travellers to China or those wanting to learn the basics of the language!

Most helpful critical review

This is a poor book which isnt particularly easy to follow and its the wronmg size . It would have been better with clear sections, some basic vocab and pocket size. I threw it away and took to writing some basic words on paper as I went.

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This was a great little purchase for my trip. It made the whole experience more enjoyable, and I found myself using it from the moment I arrived. It was really handy in the situations given, like in restaurants and in taxis and others, but more than that, it was great to be able to play with the language in it. Granted it was basic language, but that's exactly what I wanted for my holiday, and I enjoyed being able to speak without the book after a few days.

In response to someone saying that you can't make sentences with this book, actually the opposite was the case. I found that with this book I was able to get around even without the book after just a few days using it and learning the language from it. I really enjoyed the freedom it gave me to do what I wanted and get around by myself, as well as the great feeling of just being able to stand and converse a little bit in Chinese.

Would definitely recommend to travellers to China or those wanting to learn the basics of the language!

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I am learning Chinese in class before a visit later in the year. From that I'm getting a basic understanding of the structure of the language but what I don't really get is enough opportunity to actually practise conversation in Chinese. This is where this handy little book comes in. As I have Kindle on my phone I always have it with me as a quick reminder of phrases for real-life situations. Now that I have found a Chinese student who helps me with conversation in return for help with English the book has provided a good basis for starting to get confident in speaking which is what learning a new language for practical purposes is all about! I should also say that I bought the earlier version of the book that - for sound reasons (pardon the pun) - left out the tones. The tones, plus loads of other practical information such as a Beijing restaurant guide, are now in there (automatically updated on my Kindle) and it is very much to the author's credit that he has responded so quickly and effectively to make his good little book even better.

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This is exactly what it says it is, a guide to communicating in Mandarin Chinese giving exactly enough and no more. At one point in the book the author encourages the reader to contact him for the Chinese characters. As I have sometimes found that pointing to a phrase in my guidebook can make up for my mispronunciations, I did so. Mr McGlasson was really most helpful and courteous and I am most grateful for this further assistance and advice.

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I bought this book as my Chinese is pretty rubbish, and have never really learned the language. So, on a recent trip to Beijing I purchased this book, just so that I could be polite and make an effort to speak the lingo when I was there.

I wasn't expecting much, but with the vocabulary and pronunciation I was able to get around, and people actually understood what I was saying, which I found quite remarkable, as Chinese is supposed to be a very difficult language. At one point, I even was able to direct a lost taxi driver to my guest house... it wasn't too far away but the driver understood and we got there with no hassles.

Definitely recommended to anyone going to China with very little / if any Chinese language skills. Actually being able to communicate verbally made my trip more pleasant, and in actual fact I am toying with the idea of learning the language in greater depth.

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I am trying to teach myself Chinese using a couple of textbooks. At times the amount of new vocabulary you are expected to learn is a bit overwhelming for a beginner. I purchased The Most Basic Chinese to act as a revision tool - to remind me of the most important words and phrases I need to remember. It has proved very useful for this purpose, and I think it is good value for money. I am learning to read the language as well as speak it so I need the relevant symbols too. James McGlasson sent them to me very promptly when I emailed him, which was very helpful.